Being in creative flow is one of the most important essentials in my daily work. I rely on inspiration to give me the thoughts to think, the words to say, and the guidance to show me the best steps to take that will help me serve my purpose in the most effective and efficient ways possible.
I’m also not naturally the type of person who likes to make lists and check boxes. I’m a “do whatever I feel like whenever I want to” kind of girl. So when that mindset wasn’t working for my business, I started to really get frustrated. Especially because the guidance of my business coaches was to “constantly be in flow and just show up and do what feels good in the moment!”
It wasn’t working for me. The end of my workday would come and I wasn’t sure I did everything I wanted to do. Sometimes I felt accomplished but other times I felt like nothing got done. Mostly, I had no way of determining what was working and what I could eliminate, release, or shift so that I was giving God the best opportunity to work magic for me in my business.
What I learned is that, for me anyway, a balance of creative flow and a solid action plan are both necessary. I pray in the morning for guidance, stay flexible, but I also create a solid plan (obvs guided by my spirit!) for the week before Monday comes around.
I don’t begin my week clueless, empty slated, just waiting for the first bit of guidance before I can step into my work.
I consider a couple things my top priority when planning my week, and then I leave the rest up to God. Here are the things that I have outlined before my week begins:
- Basic topics I want to talk about and discuss– I noticed that when I just randomly showed up for a FB or IG live and shared whatever came up in the spur of the moment, often there was no flow from one day to the next. People didn’t know what to expect from me. And when people get confused, they stop engaging.
I couldn’t blame them! I didn’t feel on top of my game, and sometimes I just showed up and hit “GO LIVE” without any thought of what I was going to talk about, thinking that God would just show up and speak through me. Sure, this is very possible. But while I waited for the brilliance to flow through, people got bored and uninterested.
You can still expect brilliance to flow (and even more so really!) when you’re prepared with a theme for the week/month or whatever feels right for you.
- Places to go and people to engage with– By writing down groups and individuals I want to engage with, I can easily remember where the people I most resonate with show up online. Instead of randomly visiting groups and chatting with just whoever, I’m very intentional with where I go and who I interact with. By showing up consistently in the same places, you are much more capable of making an impact and giving people a chance to get to know you!
- My reason for showing up– Begin with your why. This is one of my most favorite ways to get out of my head and remember the real reason I do what I do.
Do you want to inspire others? Do you want to share your story? Do you want to teach something? Do you want to engage and connect?
If your why is only self-serving, try tweaking it until you’re giving more than you receive. As you give, God will give back to you. You can never out-give God.
Once I have these few pieces in place, I feel ready to let go of the rest and allow God to direct my path.
How about you? What is your strategy for planning? Is it working for you? What adjustments can you make so that you’re more available for creative flow to work through you?
